


Easy or Complicated

by Diary



Category: The Normal Heart (2014)
Genre: Bechdel Test Fail, Bottle Episode Fic, Canon Gay Character, Canon Gay Relationship, Late Night Conversations, M/M, POV Male Character, POV Ned Weeks, POV Queer Character, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-16
Updated: 2016-02-16
Packaged: 2018-05-20 22:51:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6028435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Diary/pseuds/Diary
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After their first night together, Ned and Felix talk. Complete.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Easy or Complicated

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own The Normal Heart.

Pouring cup of coffee and settling at his typewriter, Ned stares at a blank page, and wincing as the cold, stale coffee coats his tongue, he strains to hear the vague sounds of breathing coming from his room.

“I’m too old for this,” he mutters.

“Too old for what?”

Jumping, he turns to see a jean-clad Felix standing nearby. “Hey,” he says. “Sorry, did I wake you? I sometimes write at odd hours.”

“No,” Felix answers. Taking the cup and sipping it, he makes a face. “Is it okay if I make a fresh pot?”

“Of course,” Ned says. “I just didn’t want to- I’ll show you where the beans are. Instant or old-fashioned?”

“Either,” is the disinterested response. “You not being there woke me up. Most men don’t leave afterwards if it’s their place, but with you, I’m quickly learning not to assume anything.”

“I told you, what you see is what you get.”

“Uh-huh,” Felix says.

Ned feels his stomach clench. The tone is one he’s alternately ran from and stood up against at various points in his life. People get it when they’re about to expose some vulnerability they’ve managed to find in him.

“Either you really like me and aren’t sure how to keep me around, or you aren’t the bluffer I thought you were.” Felix pours the cold cup in the sink. “So, I’m going to make it easy for you. There are limits, but complicated doesn’t scare me. Easy doesn’t scare me. What I don’t like and have decided to try to eliminate from my life is not knowing where I stand.”

He touches Ned’s arm, and Ned pushes his heel down to keep himself from moving forward.

“I like you. I’d like to know more of you. But it’s not going to break me if you don’t want the same. Just tell me honestly what you want, and we’ll go from there,” Felix finishes.

“I’d like to know more of you, too,” he says. “And I’m not afraid of easy or complicated, either.”

Smiling, Felix kisses him. “Good.”

Taking off his glasses, Ned nods. “Good.”

“Do you really write at odd hours, or were you just trying to figure this out?”

Chuckling, Ned pours two cups and sits down. “I usually don’t write during the night. You?”

“I try not to take my work home. The carnival comes in two months. I don’t care what anyone says, they make the best cotton candy. And coming from someone who doesn’t even like sweets most of the time, that’s saying something. Is it too early to ask if you have plans?”

“I do,” Ned tells him. “I have to see if I can steal the best cotton candy from this person who doesn’t understand how wondrous sugar is. Want to share a cab and call it a date?”

He files the smile and laugh he gets as one of his newest and best vulnerabilities.

“Sure,” Felix agrees.


End file.
